This is a partially sorted list of notable persons who have had ties to Columbia University.

Nobel laureates

As of October 2008, 77 Nobel laureates are associated with Columbia University. 39 Nobel laureates are the alumni of Columbia University. 17 of these alumni have also served on the faculty or staff of the university. There are 37 non-alumni Nobel laureates who have been in service to the university. Columbia University does not count Visiting Professors as one of its own. Only those professors who have spent a year or more at the University are counted.

Alumni

Chemistry

Economic science

Peace

Physics

Physiology or medicine

Faculty, research fellows and others

Chemistry

Economic science

Literature

Peace

Physics

Physiology or medicine

Fields Medalists

• Jesse Douglas— (attended Columbia College from 1920–1924) winner of the Fields Medal in 1936
• Stephen Smale—Professor of Mathematics, winner of the Fields Medal in 1966 and the Wolf Prize in Mathematics in 2006/7

Founding Fathers of the United States

Founding Fathers of the United States are the political leaders who signed the Declaration of Independence or the United States Constitution, or otherwise participated in the American Revolution as leaders of the Patriots.

• Alexander Hamilton—Founding father, co-author of The Federalist Papers, the first Secretary of Treasury
• John Jay—Founding Father, First Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, political theorist
• Robert Livingston—Founding Father, drafter of the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Minister to France, negotiator of the Louisiana Purchase
• Gouverneur Morris—Founding father, creator of the Manhattan street grid system, a builder of the Erie canal

Presidents of the United States

• Theodore Roosevelt—(Law) 26th President of the United States, Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Vice-President of the United States, Governor of New York, Assistant Secretary of the Navy
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt—(Law) 32nd President of the United States, consistently been ranked as one of the three greatest U.S. presidents in scholarly surveys, Governor of New York; Assistant Secretary of the Navy
• Dwight Eisenhower—Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force, President of Columbia University, 34th President of the United States
• Barack Obama—(B.A. 1983) Democratic Senator from Illinois (2005-2008), first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review, 44th President of the United States (assumes office on January 20, 2009)

Presidents and Prime Ministers (International)

• Giuliano Amato—(M.A.Law 1963) Prime Minister of Italy
• Hafizullah Amin—(Ph.D. 1962) President of Afghanistan
• Toomas Hendrik Ilves—President of Estonia
• Marek Belka—Prime Minister of Poland
• Wellington Koo—President of the Republic of China
• Mary Robinson—President of Ireland
• Mikhail Saakashvili—(Law 1994) President of the Democratic Republic of Georgia (2004–present)
• Tang Shaoyi—Prime Minister of the Republic of China
• Abdul Zahir—(M.D.) Prime Minister of Afghanistan

Notable alumni and attendees

Politics, military and law

• Alexander Hamilton— the first United States Secretary of Treasury
• Madeleine Albright—(Ph.D. 1976, LLD[hons.] 1995) 64th United States Secretary of State, the first female Secretary of State
• B. R. Ambedkar—(M.A. 1915, Ph.D. 1928, LLD[hons.] 1952) A founding father of modern India and the architect of its constitution; honoured with the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, given for the highest degree of national service
• William Pelham Barr— (B.A. 1971, M.A. 1973) 77th United States Attorney General, 1991–1993
• Samuel Blatchford—U.S. Supreme Court Justice; Circuit Judge, U.S. Judicial Circuit; Judge, United States District Court for the District of New York
• Hans Blix—Swedish diplomat
• Boutros Boutros-Ghali—(Fulbright Research Scholar, 1954–1955) Secretary-General of the United Nations
• Harold Brown—Secretary of Defense in the Carter Administration; former president of Caltech; Secretary of the Air Force
• Pat Buchanan (Journalism)—Conservative commentator, speechwriter, senior advisor to three U.S. presidents
• Arthur Frank Burns—(B.A. 1925, M.A. 1925, Ph.D. 1934) Austrian-born U.S. economist, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers (1953–1956), Chairman of the Federal Reserve System (1970–1978), Ambassador to Bonn (1981–1985)
• Benjamin Cardozo— US Supreme Court Justice
• Whittaker Chambers—Accused Soviet spy in the Ware group, famously testified against Alger Hiss
• Shirley Chisholm—(M.Ed. Teacher's College) First African American woman elected to congress. Represented Brooklyn, New York in congress for seven terms. First African American and first woman to make a serious bid for the presidency of the United States.
• DeWitt Clinton—Governor of New York State, U.S. Senator, Mayor of New York City, main proponent of the Erie Canal
• Morris Cohen—Soviet spy, subject of Hugh Whitemore's drama for stage and TV Pack of Lies
• Bainbridge Colby— (1891) U.S. Secretary of State, founder of United States Progressive Party
• William Colby—Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
• Colgate Darden—Governor of Virginia, president of the University of Virginia, Chancellor of the College of William and Mary, Democratic Congressman from Virginia
• Gray Davis—(Law) Governor of California
• John Watts de Peyster—(M.A.)—Major General during the American Civil War, Author, Historian
• Howard Dean—(GS,Pre-med)—Chairman Democratic National Committee, Governor of Vermont
• Thomas E. Dewey—(Law 1925) Governor of New York (1943–1955); Republican candidate for President of the United States in 1944 (against Roosevelt) and in 1948 (against Truman)
• William Joseph Donovan (Wild Bill)—Wartime head of the OSS (predecessor to the CIA)
• William O. Douglas—U.S. Supreme Court justice; Chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); professor of law at Columbia and Yale law schools
• Miguel Estrada—B.A. 1983—controversial nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
• Hamilton Fish —(1827) U.S. Secretary of State, Governor of New York, U.S. Senator
• De Witt C. Flanagan (c. 1892), represented New Jersey's 4th congressional district from 1902 to 1903.¹
• Charles Fried—Solicitor General of the United States
• Francis "Gabby" Gabreski—(B.A. 1949) Fighter ace of World War II and Korea
• Ruth Bader Ginsburg—(Law) Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, Judge of the D.C. Circuit Court, former professor at Columbia Law School
• Bela Gold—Economist on Venona list of suspected Soviet subversives who operated in the U.S.
• Dore Gold—(B.A. 1975, M.A. 1976, Ph.D. 1984) U.S.-born Israeli diplomat, Ambassador to the United Nations (1997–1999), President of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
• Harvey Goldschmid—Commissioner, United States Securities and Exchange Commission
• Matt Gonzalez—(B.A. 1987) Ralph Nader 2008 vice presidential running mate, former president San Francisco of Board of Supervisors
• Mike Gravel—(B.S. 1956) Democratic Senator from Alaska, candidate for the 2008 U.S. Presidential election
• Joseph A. Greenaway, Jr.—(B.A. 1978) Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
• Jack Greenberg—(B.A. 1945, LL.B. 1948) litigator of Brown v. Board of Education, Professor at Columbia Law School
• Alan Greenspan—Former Federal Reserve Bank Chairman, studied for a PhD in economics
• Judd Gregg—Republican Senator from New Hampshire (2005), former Governor of New Hampshire
• John D. Hawke, Jr.—Comptroller of the Currency
• Jim Hightower—Progressive activist
• Eric Holder —(1976) nominated to be 82nd United States Attorney General; first African American Attorney General (if confirmed); Deputy Attorney General in Clinton Administration
• Johan Jørgen Holst—(B.A. 1960) Norwegian Foreign Minister, The Oslo Accord of 1994 between Israel and the Palestinians
• Charles Evans Hughes— Associate and Chief Justice of U.S. Supreme Court; U.S. Secretary of State; Governor of New York; Republican candidate for President of the United States in 1916 (against Wilson and Roosevelt)
• Richard C. Hunter— US Senator from Nebraska (1934-5)
• Jacob Javits—Republican Senator from New York (1957–1981); Member of the U.S. House of Representatives; New York State Attorney General
• John Jay—first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court; Governor of New York
• Thomas Kean—Governor of New Jersey (1982–1990), President of Drew University, Chairman of controversial 9/11 Commission
• John W. King—Governor of Rhode Island
• Jeane Kirkpatrick—(Ph.D. 1968, political science) US ambassador to UN under Reagan
• John H. Langbein—(B.A. 1964), legal scholar and professor at Yale Law School
• William Langer—U.S. Senator and Governor of North Dakota
• Frank Lautenberg—(B.Sc. 1949, economics) Democratic Senator from New Jersey
• William Beach Lawrence—acting Governor of Rhode Island
• Sander M. Levin—(M.A. 1954, international relations)—US Congressman from Michigan
• Irving Lewis "Scooter" Libby—(J.D. 1975) novelist, indicted ex-chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney and signatory to controversial manifesto Rebuilding America's Defenses (2000) of the Project for the New American Century
• John Lindsay—Mayor of New York City (1966–1973)
• Seth Low—University president, Mayor of New York City
• Li Lu—Law/Business, leader of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
• James L. McConaughy—Governor of Connecticut, President of Wesleyan University
• James McGreevey—(B.A. 1978) Governor of New Jersey (2002–2004).²
• John McLaughlin— political commentator, host of The McLaughlin Group on PBS
• James Meredith—American civil rights movement figure
• Robert B. Meyner—Governor of New Jersey
• Robert Moses—Controversial leader of mid-century urban "renewal" that re-shaped New York mainly through destructive highway projects
• Constance Baker Motley—First African-American woman federal court judge, NYS Senator, Manhattan Borough president
• Michael Mukasey—(B.A. 1963), United States Attorney General (2007–present)
• Charles J. O'Byrne—(B.A. 1981, J.D. 1984), Secretary to the Governor of New York (2008–present)
• George Pataki—(Law 1970) Governor of New York (1995–2006)
• David Paterson—(B.A. 1977) first African American Governor of New York
• Francis Perkins—Secretary of Labor
• Victor Perlo—Soviet spy involved in Harold Ware spy ring and Perlo group as shown in Venona list of suspected subversives
• Mario Laserna Pinzón—(B.A. 1948) Colombian statesman and educator; founder, Universidad de los Andes
• Norman Podhoretz—editor of Commentary, a founder of Neoconservatism connected with the controversial Project for the New American Century
• Bernard Redmont—(M.S. 1939) Soviet spy
• Stanley Forman Reed—US Supreme Court justice, Solicitor General of the United States
• William Remington—(M.A. 1940) convicted Soviet spy in the Sound and Myrna groups; killed in prison
• Hyman G. Rickover—USN Admiral, father of the US nuclear submarine fleet
• James P. Rubin—(B.A. 1982, M.A. 1984) U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs (1997–2000)
• Charles F.C. Ruff—(Law) Washington lawyer, represented Anita Hill (vs. Clarence Thomas) and Bill Clinton (impeachment)
• Brent Scowcroft-(M.A., Ph.D.) National Security Advisor under Presidents Ford and George H. W. Bush
• Craig Silverman—U.S. Army Judge Advocate, thinker
• Thomas Sowell—African American economist and author
• Ben Stein—(B.A. 1966) Actor, conservative commentator
• George Stephanopoulos—(B.A. 1982) Senior advisor to Bill Clinton, television anchor
• Leon Sullivan (M.A. 1947) Civil rights activist, anti-apartheid activist, long-time GM Board Member, and Baptist Minister
• William Sulzer— Governor of New York
• Harlan Fiske Stone—Associate and Chief Justice of US Supreme Court; U.S. Attorney General; Professor and Dean, Columbia Law School
• Telford Taylor—chief US prosecutor at Nuremberg Trials
• George Tenet—(M.I.A.) Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
• Daniel D. Tompkins—6th Vice President of the United States, Governor of New York
• Peter Dumont Vroom—Governor of New Jersey
• Lawrence E. Walsh—Independent Prosecutor for the Iran-Contra Affair
• Harry Dexter White—senior Treasury official for FDR, helped found World Bank/IMF, alleged in Venona list to be Soviet spy
• Horace White—Governor of New York
• Charles Wilkes—U.S. Navy Admiral, noted for his 1838–1842 Pacific expedition as well as for his role in the Trent Affair during the Civil War.
• Prince Hussain Aga Khan (2004) - Elder son of Prince Karim Aga Khan IV
• Dov Zakheim—Rabbi, Defense Department comptroller (2001–2004), ex-V.P. of System Planning Corp.,signatory to controversial manifesto Rebuilding America's Defenses (2000) of the Project for the New American Century

Business

• John Jacob Astor III—19th century real estate baron
• Frank Lusk Babbott—(LLB 1880) jute merchant and art patron
• Warren Buffett—(M.B.A.) Investor, president of Berkshire Hathaway
• Bennett Cerf—Founder of Random House
• Jason Epstein—Editorial director at Random House
• Stephen Friedman—Chairman of Goldman Sachs, National Economic Council director, chairman of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board
• Mario Gabelli—investor
• Michael Gould—CEO of Bloomingdale's
• Larry Grossman—former CEO of PBS and NBC
• Armand Hammer—President, Occidental Petroleum, noted internationalist convicted for illegal campaign donations
• Herman Hollerith—(Engineer of Mines 1879, Ph.D. 1890)- founder of the Tabulating Machine Company, a predecessor to IBM
• John Kluge—Founder of Metromedia
• Alfred A. Knopf—(B.A. 1912) Founder of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Publishers
• Robert Kraft—Owner of New England Patriots
• Henry Kravis—(MBA 1969) Investment banker who invented the leveraged buyout
• Randolph Lerner—CEO of MBNA Bank, and owner of Cleveland Browns
• Frank Lorenzo—(B.A. 1961) corporate raider
• John R. MacArthur—(B.A. 1917) President and publisher of Harper's, the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the country
• Eric Ober—Former President of CBS News division, and Food Network
• Vikram Pandit—(B.S.1976,M.S.1977,Ph.D1986,Trustee) CEO of Citigroup
• Wayne Allyn Root— (B.A. 1983) Founder & Chairman of Winning Edge International, inducted into Las Vegas Walk of Stars in 2006
• Edwin Schlossberg—(B.A. 1967, Ph.D. 1971) Founder of ESI Design (also its Principal Designer)
• David O. Selznick—Legendary movie producer
• Robert Shaye—(J.D. 1964) CEO of New Line Cinema
• Lawrence L. Shenfield— (B.A. 1915), Advertising executive and philatelist
• Richard L. Simon—Co-Founder of Simon & Schuster
• S. Robson Walton—(J.D. 1969) Chairman of the Board, Wal-Mart
• Ursula Burns—(M.S. 1981) CEO of Xerox Corporation
• Martha Stewart (Barnard College)

Religion and Ministry

• Frederick Buckley Newell (M.A., 1916) — Bishop of The Methodist Church
• Hazen Graff Werner — Bishop of The Methodist Church
• Paula Reimers, Rabbi

Arts and literature

• Max Abramovitz—architect for the Avery Fisher Hall of Lincoln Center.
• Aravind Adiga—author of The White Tiger and winner of the 2008 Man Booker Prize.
• Mitch Albom—(M.A., M.B.A.) Author
• John Ashbery—Poet
• Isaac Asimov—(B.S. 1939, Ph.D. 1948) Science fiction author, I, Robot
• Paul Auster—(B.A. 1969) Postmodern author, The New York Trilogy, Moon Palace (named after now-defunct Chinese restaurant near campus)
• Béla Bartók—Composer, pianist, and early scholar in ethnomusicology
• James Blish—Science fiction author
• Sidney Buchman—Academy award winning screenwriter
• Jerome Charyn—(B.A. 1959) Novelist
• John Corigliano—(B.A. 1959) American composer
• Kiran Desai— (M.F.A. 1999) novelist, winner of the Booker Prize for fiction
• Alden B. Dow—(B.A. 1931) noted Architect
• Peter Eisenmann—(M.A.) Architect
• Walter Farley—(B.A. 1941) Author, The Black Stallion
• Amanda Filipacchi—(M.F.A) Author, Nude Men, Vapor, Love Creeps
• Richard Florida—(Ph.D. 1986) Author, "Rise of the Creative Class"
• Allen Forte—(B.A.) Music theorist, now Battell Professor of Music, Emeritus at Yale University
• Nicholas Gage— Author, "Eleni", "A Place For Us", "Greek Fire"
• Paul Gallico—Author, The Snow Goose, The Poseidon Adventure, The Silent Miaow
• Federico García Lorca—(1929–1930) poet & playwright
• Allen Ginsberg—(B.A. 1949) Beat Generation poet
• Philip Gourevitch—(M.F.A. 1992) recipient of the National Book Critics Circle Award, editor of The Paris Review
• Edwin Granberry (1920) writer of the Buz Sawyer comic strip
• Gulgee— (1926–2007) Pakistani artist famous for his paintings and Islamic calligraphy, qualified engineer
• Anthony Hecht—(M.A.) Pulitzer Prize-winning poet
• Joseph Heller—Author, Catch-22
• Henry Beaumont Hertsarchitect
• Langston Hughes—African-American writer and poet
• Jim Jarmusch—filmmaker
• Jack Kerouac—(College 1940–1942; dropped out) Founder of the Beat Generation movement; author, On the Road
• Ursula K. Le Guin—(M.A. 1951) Author primarily known for science fiction and fantasy novels
• Edward MacDowell—American composer, professor of music
• Carson McCullers—Author, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
• John Matteson—(PhD.) Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer (2008)
• Isamu Noguchi—Sculptor
• Walker Percy—(M.D. 1941) Winner of the National Book Award
• James Renwick, Jr.—(B.A. 1836, M.A. 1839) Gothic Revival architect who designed St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York and the Smithsonian Institution Building in Washington, D.C., among other commissions.
• J.D. Salinger—Author, The Catcher in the Rye
• Robert Silverberg— Science fiction author
• Upton Sinclair—Populist author, The Jungle; presidential candidate
• Robert A. M. Stern—(B.A. 1960) Postmodern architect
• Hunter S. Thompson— Author, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
• Erica Simone Turnipseed; Writer
• Mark Van Doren—(Ph.D. 1920) Pulitzer Prize-winning poet
• Charles Van Doren—Author, English professor whose national disgrace was the subject of the Oscar-nominated film Quiz Show
• Eric Van Lustbader—Author, The Ninja
• Kara Walker—Artist, Professor of Professional Practice.
• Eudora Welty—(Business, 1930-31, hon. LHD 1982) Pulitzer Prize winning author, The Optimist's Daughter
• George Wyatt, sculptor
• Herman Wouk—Pulitzer Prize-winning author, War and Remembrance
• Roger Zelazny—Science fiction author

Performing arts

• Casey Affleck—Golden Globe-nominated and Oscar-nominated actor
• Sarah Atereth—Dance music recording artist, songwriter, and professional dancer (both modern and ballet)
• Emanuel Ax—(B.A. 1970)—Pianist, won Avery Fisher prize at age 30, won three Grammy Awards along with cellist Yo-Yo Ma; also awarded the John Jay Award by the University
• Kathryn Bigelow—Director, Strange Days
• Jeremy Blackman—(B.A. 2009)—Actor, starred in Magnolia
• Sorrell Booke—(B.A. 1949)—Actor, best known as "Boss Hogg" on the TV series Dukes of Hazzard
• Pat Boone—(B.S. 1957)—Singer and Actor
• Joshua Brand (M.A. 1974) - Emmy Award-winning creator of St. Elsewhere, I'll Fly Away, and Northern Exposure
• Sidney Buchman—(B.A. 1923)—screenwriter, won an Academy Award for writing for Here Comes Mister Jordan]].
• Cara Buono—Actress, Third Watch
• James Cagney—Actor, White Heat and Yankee Doodle Dandy (attended first semester)
• Vanessa Carlton—Singer, songwriter
• Peter Cincotti—Pianist, singer, songwriter, actor, model
• Spencer Treat Clark—(B.A. 2010) Actor, Gladiator, Mystic River, and Unbreakable
• Bill Condon—Academy Award-winning Writer, Gods and Monsters, Chicago, and Director, Kinsey and Dreamgirls
• Ossie Davis—Actor
• Brian Dennehy—(B.A. 1960)—Actor
• Brian De Palma—Movie director, Carrie and The Untouchables
• I.A.L. Diamond—(B.A. 1941) Co-winner of an Academy Award for writing for The Apartment
• R. Luke DuBois—(B.A. 1997, M.A. 1999, D.M.A. 2003)—Composer/artist, member of the Freight Elevator Quartet
• Fred Ebb—(M.A. 1957) lyricist who collaborated with John Kander on such Broadway musicals as Cabaret, Chicago, Woman of the Year and Kiss of the Spider Woman and the soundtracks of Funny Lady and New York, New York
• Matthew Fox—(B.A. 1989) Golden Globe-winning Actor, Lost, Party of Five
• Dan Futterman—(B.A. 1989) Actor, The Birdcage, Judging Amy
• Art Garfunkel—(B.A. 1965) Singer, songwriter of Simon and Garfunkel
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt—Actor, 3rd Rock from the Sun (attended four years in GS but did not graduate)
• Lauren Graham — Actress, "Gilmore Girls" (Barnard College; B.A. 1988)
• James Gunn—Film Director (Slither), Screenwriter (Dawn of the Dead, Scooby-Doo), and Novelist (The Toy Collector)
• Jake Gyllenhaal—Academy Award-nominated Actor, Brokeback Mountain, star of Donnie Darko, Jarhead (attended first two years)
• Maggie Gyllenhaal—(B.A. 1999) Golden Globe-nominated Actress, Secretary, star in The Dark Knight
• Oscar Hammerstein II—Lyricist and librettist of such musicals as the Pulitzer Prize-winning Oklahoma!, The King and I and The Sound of Music, collaborator with Richard Rodgers and winner of 15 Academy Awards, 35 Tony Awards, and two Pulitzer Prizes
• Ed Harris— Golden Globe-winning and Academy Award-nominated Actor (attended first two years)
• Lorenz Hart—Broadway lyricist, collaborator with both Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, wrote such songs as "Blue Moon", "The Lady is a Tramp" and "My Funny Valentine"
• Utada Hikaru—Japanese pop singer (did not graduate)
• Lauryn Hill—Grammy Award winning R&B singer, one-time Fugees frontwoman (attended first year)
• Katie Holmes—Actress (only attended a summer session)
• Famke Janssen—Actress
• John Kander—(M.A.) lyricist who collaborated with Fred Ebb on such Broadway musicals as Cabaret, Chicago, Woman of the Year and Kiss of the Spider Woman and the soundtracks of Funny Lady and New York, New York
• Jean Kelly—Actress
• Alicia Keys—Grammy Award winning Singer, composer (attended first year)
• Joel Krosnick—Cellist; member of the Juilliard String Quartet; chairman of Cello Department at Juilliard School
• Tony Kushner—(B.A.) Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Angels in America
• Sean Lennon— Singer and songwriter, son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono (attended first year)
• Al Lewis—(Ph.D. 1941)—Actor, The Munsters, basketball scout, New York gubernatorial candidate, restaurateur
• Yo-Yo Ma— Renowned cellist (transferred to Harvard University)
• Herman J. Mankiewicz—(B.A. 1917) Won an Academy Award for co-writing Citizen Kane; older brother of Joseph L. Mankiewicz
• Joseph L. Mankiewicz—(B.A. 1928) Won four Academy Awards, including Academy Award for Best Director and writing. Younger brother of Herman J. Mankiewicz.
• Terrence McNally—(B.A. 1960) Dramatist, winner of four Tony Awards, an Emmy, a Pulitzer Prize, and two Guggenheim Fellowships
• Max Minghella—(B.A. 2009)—Actor, starred in Syriana and Art School Confidential
• Rachel Nichols—Actress, model
• Anna Paquin—Academy Award-winning actress, The Piano and X-Men (attended first year)
• Lena Park - Popular Korean singer
• Amanda Peet—Actress, The Whole Nine Yards
• Anthony Perkins, Actor, best known for his work as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho
• Richard Rodgers—Composer of musicals including the Pulitzer Prize-winning Oklahoma!, The King and I, and The Sound of Music, collaborator with Oscar Hammerstein II and winner of 15 Academy Awards, 35 Tony Awards and two Pulitzer Prizes
• Cameron Russell, Fashion model
• George Segal—(B.A. 1955) Actor, Just Shoot Me!
• Julia Stiles—(B.A. 2005) Actress, Save the Last Dance, Mona Lisa Smile
• Rider Strong—Actor, Boy Meets World
• Mario Van Peebles—(B.A. 1978) Actor and Director
• Charles Wuorinen—(B.A. 1961, M.A. 1963) American musician, pianist, and composer

Journalism

• William M. Abrams - (M.A.) senior executive and journalist for the New York Times, ABC News and The Wall Street Journal
• R.W. Apple—(B.S. 1961) Senior Correspondent, Associate Editor, former Washington Bureau chief, New York Times
• Marcus Brauchli, managing editor, The Wall Street Journal
• Jamal Dajani—(B.A. Political Science) Director of Middle Eastern Programming, Link TV, Producer of Mosaic: World News from the Middle East winner of a Peabody Award
• Max Frankel—(B.A.) Executive editor, New York Times, Pulitzer Prize winner
• Melissa Fung—(M.A., journalism) Canadian CBC News journalist
• Nicholas Gage— Investigative reporter, Foreign Correspondent, The New York Times (1970–1980), Journalist, The Boston Herald Traveler, The Wall Street Journal
• Ken Hechtman—Maverick journalist jailed by the Afghanistan's Taliban government as a suspected spy in 2001
• Jay Irving—reporter, cartoonist, father of Clifford Irving who is best known for perpetrating hoax biography of Howard Hughes
• Leonard Koppett—Acclaimed sports writer, columnist, author
• Joseph Lelyveld—(M.A., Journalism) Executive editor, New York Times
• Robert Lipsyte—(B.A. 1957) winner of an Emmy Award in 1990, host of The Eleventh Hour on PBS, correspondent for The New York Times and ABC Nightly News
• Andrés Martinez—(J.D.) Editorial page editor of the Los Angeles Times
• Gabriele Marcotti—(M.A., Journalism) Football writer for The Times, The Sunday Herald, La Stampa, Il Corriere dello Sport, Host of Five Live Sport on Fridays and The Game Podcast
• John L. O'Sullivan—Editor of the Democratic Review during the 1840s, coined the phrase Manifest Destiny
• Wayne Allyn Root—Spike TV, Discovery Channel, CNBCCreator, Executive Producer, and Host of "Wayne Allyn Root's Winning Edge" and "King of Vegas" Anchorman & Host FNN- Financial News Network
• Claire Shipman—(B.A. 1986) Senior National Correspondent for ABC, winner of an Emmy Award for her CNN coverage of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989; her work also contributed to the CNN network winning a Peabody Award for its coverage of the Soviet coup attempt of 1991
• Richard Smith—(M.I.A.) CEO of Newsweek
• Ron Suskind—(M.A. 1983)—Pulitzer prize winning journalist, author
• Tiziano Terzani—reporter and correspondent
• Richard Watts, Jr. - longtime theatre critic for the New York Post
• Gideon Yago—(B.A. 2000)—MTV News Correspondent
• Helen Dalley - Respected Australian journalist, currently an anchor with Sky News Australia

Science and technology

• Roy Chapman Andrews—(M.A.)—Dinosaur bone hunter
• Virginia Apgar—(M.D. 1933) Created the Apgar score which is used to evaluate the health of newborn babies
• Edwin Armstrong—(B.S. 1913) Inventor of radio circuitry such as the regenerative circuit and FM radio, pioneer in feedback amplifiers
• Oswald Avery—(M.D. 1904) discoverer of DNA's role in transmitting genetic information
• John Backus—(B.S. - mathematics, 1949) Inventor of Fortran programming language
• T. Romeyn Beck—(M.D.) forensic medicine pioneer
• Marie Maynard Daly—(Ph.D. 1947), first African American woman to earn a doctorate in chemistry
• Charles Drew—(M.D. 1940) Inventor of blood plasma preservation system
• Helen Flanders Dunbar—(Ph.D. 1929) important early figure in U.S. psychosomatic medicine.
• David Eppstein—(Ph.D. 1989) Computer Scientist
• Gordon Gould—(Ph.D., didn't complete), inventor of the laser
• Stephen Jay Gould—(Ph.D. 1967) Paleontologist and author
• Benjamin Graham—(B.A. 1914) Father of Modern Security Analysis and value investing, taught Warren Buffett
• Jean Emily Henley—(M.D. 1940) Wrote the first German anesthesia textbook after World War II
• Robert Jastrow—(B.A, M.A. Ph.D.) Astronomer
• Arthur Jensen—(Ph.D. 1956) Educational psychologist who argued for heritability of intelligence
• Radovan Karadžić—(M.D. 1975) Serb politician, poet and psychiatrist
• Kai-Fu Lee—(B.S. 1983) former professor at Carnegie Mellon University, former Vice President at Apple Computer, former President of Cosmo Software, established China division of Microsoft Research, establishing China research division for Google
• William Malisoff—(Ph.D.) Scientist accused of being a Soviet spy in the Venona project
• Robert Moog—Inventor of Moog synthesizer
• Joel Moses—(B.A., M.A.) MIT Provost and author of Macsyma
• Edward Lawry Norton—(M.S. 1925) Electrical Engineer, discovered the Norton circuit equivalent
• William Barclay Parsons—(B.S. 1879) Civil Engineer
• William Perl—physicist imprisoned for five years for his involvement in the Rosenberg ring of atomic spies
• Michael I. Pupin—(B.S. 1883)—Inventor of telephone transmission coils and scientist, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his autobiography
• Benjamin Spock—(M.D. 1929)—Olympic rower, pediatrician, author of The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care
• Paul Stelzer—(M.D. 1972)—cardiothoracic surgeon and expert in the Ross procedure³
• John Stevens (inventor)—(A.B. 1768)—Built first steam railroad, responsible for first patent law in the US.

Astronauts and aviators

• Kenneth D. Bowersox—(M.S. 1979)
• Kevin P. Chilton—(M.S. 1977)
• Amelia Earhart—(attended one semester, 1920)
• William G. Gregory—(M.S. 1980)
• Michael J. Massimino—(B.S. 1984)
• Story Musgrave—(M.D. 1964)
• Eugene H. Trinh—(B.S. 1972)

Academics and theorists

• Mortimer Adler—Founder of the Great Books movement
• Claude Ake (Ph.D. 1966)—Nigerian political scientist
• Frederick A.P. Barnard—University president, namesake of Barnard College
• Jacques Barzun—Historian
• Ruth Benedict—cultural anthropologist, author of The Chrysanthemum and the Sword, a World War II-era study of Japanese culture
• Walter Block (Ph.D.)—Austrian School free market economist
• Lee Bollinger (JD 1971)—First Amendment scholar; current president of Columbia, former president of the University of Michigan and former Provost of Dartmouth College; named defendant in two key affirmative action cases in the United States Supreme Court
• H. Keith H. Brodie (M.D.)—former chancellor (1982–1985) and president (1985–1993) of Duke University
• Harold Brown—physicist; former president of Caltech; former dean of the School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins University; former US Secretary of Defense
• Nicholas Murray Butler—Columbia University President, Nobel Laureate
• Joseph Campbell—Noted professor of mythology
• Wm. Theodore de Bary (B.A.)—East Asian studies expert
• James S. Coles former president of Bowdoin College
• Michael Crow—President of Arizona State University
• John Dewey—Philosopher, developed theory of pragmatism
• Donna Robinson Divine political scientist
• Irwin Edman—Philosopher and writer
• Noam Elkies—Noted mathematician
• Richard Epstein—Noted legal scholar
• Livingston Farrand (M.D.)—public health advocate; President of the University of Colorado and Cornell University
• Moses Finley -Historian famous for his work on the ancient economy
• Joshua Fishman (Ph.D.)—Distinguished linguist specializing in social linguistics, language and culture, and Yiddish
• Gilberto Freyre (M.A. 1922)—Brazilian sociologist, cultural anthropologist and historian
• Milton Friedman (Ph.D.)—Free market economist
• Gordon Gee (J.D., Ed.D.)—Chancellor of Vanderbilt University and former president of Brown University, Ohio State University, the University of Colorado at Boulder and the West Virginia University
• Frank Goodnow — president of Johns Hopkins University
• Lynne Hanley—literary critic
• Edward Harris (B.A. 1971)—Archaeologist, inventor of the Harris Matrix
• Jane Jacobs—Urban theorist
• Edward Kasner (Ph.D. 1899)—Mathematician who coined the term googol
• Marshall Kay—Noted geologist
• Donald Keene—Japanese studies expert
• Grayson L. Kirk—University President
• Ruth Landes—author, City of Women (1947)
• Paul Lazarsfeld—Founder of the University's Bureau for Applied Social Research
• Joshua Lederberg—Nobel prize-winning biologist and former president of Rockefeller University
• Harvey J. Levin (M.A. 1948, Ph.D. 1953)—communications economics pioneer
• James L. McConaughy—President of Wesleyan University
• Anthony Marx—president of Amherst College
• Peter Likins—electrical engineer; president of the University of Arizona; former president of Lehigh University
• Seymour Martin Lipset
• Paul Massing—Sociologist in the Redhead group of Soviet spies at the university's Institute of Social Research
• Margaret Mead—Noted anthropologist
• Robert A. Millikan (Ph.D. 1895)—Nobel prize-winning physicist; first to measure the charge of the electron; early president of Caltech (1921–1945)
• Robert Nozick—Philosopher
• Marvin Opler—Noted anthropologist and social psychiatrist
• Michael Oren
• Peter Pouncey—classicist and former president of Amherst College
• Jehuda Reinharz— president of Brandeis University
• Nicanor Reyes, Sr. (Ph.D.)—Founder and 1st President of the Far Eastern University in the City of Manila, Philippines
• Thomas Hedley Reynolds—Historian, President of Bates College.
• Judith Rodin (Ph.D.)—Psychologist; Chancellor and former President of the University of Pennsylvania; and former provost of Yale University
• James R. Russell — Ancient Near Eastern scholar; professor at Harvard University
• Edward Sapir (B.A. 1904, M.A. 1905, Ph.D. 1909)—Linguist and anthropologist
• Lida Lee Tall - sixth president/principal of State Teachers College at Towson (now Towson University)
• Stephen Joel Trachtenberg—President of George Washington University
• Lionel Trilling—Literary critic
• David Truman—Political scientist and educator; former president of Mount Holyoke College
• Andrew Truxal (Ph.D. 1928) — President of Hood College and Anne Arundel Community College
• Sean Wilentz (B.A. 1972)—Chair of American Studies at Princeton University; winner of the Bancroft Prize in history
• Jay Winter (B.A. 1966)—World War I scholar at Yale University
• Aaron D. Wyner (Ph.D. 1963), information theorist noted for his contributions in coding theory.⁴
• Michael K. Young—president of the University of Utah; former dean of the George Washington University law school
• Howard Zinn (MA, PhD)—historian

Sports

• Roone Arledge—(B.A.) Pioneer of sports and news broadcasting with ABC, "Monday Night Football", "20/20", etc.
• Norman Armitage— 17-time national champion sabre fencer, and 6-time Olympian
• José Raúl Capablanca—World Chess Champion (1921–1927)
• Gary Cohen—(B.A.) New York Mets television play-by-play announcer
• Annie Duke—professional poker player
• Lou Gehrig—(1921–1923) Baseball player for the New York Yankees, enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame, suffered from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (now commonly known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease")
• Edward P. Hurt, Morgan's legendary football, basketball and track coach.
• Erison Hurtault, CC '07, runner
• Max Kellerman— (B.A.) ESPN Radio host and HBO boxing analyst
• Dan Kellner— 4-time All-American, NCAA foil champion, national champion, 2-time Pan American gold medalist and 1-time silver medalist, 1-time Maccabiah silver medalist
• Sandy Koufax—Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher
• Howard Lederer — Professional poker player, brother of Annie Duke
• Sid Luckman—(B.A.) American football quarterback, enshrinee of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
• Cliff Montgomery—(B.A.) American football quarterback, enshrinee of the College Football Hall of Fame, captain and MVP of Rose Bowl winning squad, Silver Star recipient in U.S. Navy
• Mark Pope—(current medical student) Former NBA player
• Paul Robeson—American football All-American, attorney, musician, activist
• Bob Sheppard, sports announcer, "Voice of the Yankees"
• William Milligan Sloane—Founder of the U.S. Olympic Committee
• Keeth Smart, Business School, silver medal, fencing, 2008 Olympics
• David Stern—(J.D.) NBA Commissioner
• Cristina Teuscher— (B.A. 2000) Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer
• Marcellus Wiley—(B.A. 1997) American football player, Pro-Bowl defensive end
• James L. Williams—(B.A.) World Class Fencer

Political activists

• Alex Safian co-director of the (Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America).

Notable faculty

• Alfred Aho—Computer Science professor, the "A" in the programming language AWK.
• Hattie Alexander— Professor of Pediatrics, microbiologist
• Samuel J. Danishefsky— Professor of Chemistry, winner of the Wolf Prize in Chemistry in 1995/96
• Charles Beard—Historian and co-author of The Development of Modern Europe
• Peter Bearman—Professor of Sociology
• Daniel Bell—Professor of Sociology
• J. Bowyer Bell—Adjunct Professor at the School of International and Public Affairs, and Research Associate at the Institu